Master of Death
by Felix is Lucky
Summary: AU. This is what Harry Potter's life would have been like if Merope Riddle hadn't died. Tom Riddle was a sadistic child and a bitter man, but he never becomes Voldemort. And now a relative of his is Harry Potter's best friend.
1. The Riddles

**Hello one and all :) This is my second story, and it's very AU. This is the story of Harry Potter if Merope Riddle hadn't died, if she had brought up Tom. He still wouldn't have been a particularly nice character, but the fact that she could raise him stopped him from becoming Lord Voldemort, and this is Harry's life because of this.**

Prologue – The Riddles

She just sat there, in the corner of the room. A tiny woman, withered by age, heartbreak and illness. Her son detested her. He detested her weakness, her lack of real magical ability, the fact that she allowed herself to become so… _pathetic_ because of love. Because his father died ten years ago. He didn't even love his mother, or Tom; he was under the spell of a love potion. He gave them a roof over their heads, and that's about all he did. And yet Merope Riddle was still alive, and her son, as bitter as he might have been about life, was still Tom Riddle.

'Mother, dinner's almost ready,' he said in a flat, bored voice. 'You actually have to eat today.'

Merope Riddle continued to sit there, ignoring her son. Tom exchanged a look with his wife, Zinnia. A Black by birth. He wasn't sure what he felt for her – it wasn't love, any rate, but then he had never loved anyone. He found it a waste of time. But his mother wanted him to get married, and Zinnia Black seemed perfect. A pureblood, a Slytherin, and relatively good looking. The closest he could get to love.

But then there was their daughter, Poppy Riddle, a big disappointment in Tom's eyes. She was sorted into Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, which Tom should have taken as the first hint that she wasn't up to scratch. How was a descendant of Slytherin lounging in the Ravenclaw Tower?

Still, she got good grades, and that way, as Zinnia said, Tom couldn't really complain. Until Poppy brought home her best friend the summer before her fifth year: a Muggle-born by the name of Lily Evans. Though she had neglected to tell her parents this.

'So, Lily, who are your parents?' Zinnia asked when she first arrived. 'What do they do for a living?'

'Well, my Dad, Oliver Evans, is a Doctor,' Lily replied, 'you know, a Muggle Healer. And my Mum, Heather Evans, is a receptionist at the Doctors' Surgery.'

'You're parents are Muggles?' said Tom sharply.

'Yes,' said Lily, and she definitely sounded defensive. 'And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm one of the top students in the year, if I say so myself.'

'What House are you in?' Tom added.

'Gryffindor.'

Zinnia and Poppy looked over at Tom, and found that he looked like he was about to faint.

'Oh,' was all he said. Until Lily went home, and he rounded on Poppy.

'Poppy Merope Riddle, what were you thinking?' he thundered. 'Bringing home a Gryffindor and a Muggle-born! Please tell me some of your friends are Purebloods.'

'Dad, who I'm friends with is my choice, not yours,' Poppy snapped. 'And, anyway, you can't really talk; you're a Half-blood.'

Poppy and Tom said nothing more on the subject. The Ravenclaw got ten OWLs, seven NEWTs, and at eighteen got a job at the Ministry. Tom and Zinnia were, relatively, proud of their daughter. Lily Evans never visited again. Poppy, now nineteen, got a flat in London, but that night she was visiting her parents. So were a few members of the Black family, namely Zinnia's brother, his wife and their daughters – Bellatrix and Narcissa. They had another daughter, Andromeda, but they hadn't been on speaking terms for six years – ever since she announced she was getting married to a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks.

'Merope, please come to the table,' Zinnia added. 'Poppy will be here soon. Won't you be happy to see her?'

Merope said nothing. At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Zinnia left the kitchen, returning a minute later with her brother and his family in tow. Bellatrix and Narcissa were a few years older than Poppy, and both were engaged to be married. However, their husbands-to-be weren't with them that night.

'Ah, my favourite nieces! Hello!' Tom exclaimed while Zinnia showed her brother's family into the dining room. Their house was quite big, since Tom and Zinnia both had highly paid jobs, but it wasn't as big as the home of Zinnia's other brother, his wife and their two sons, Sirius and Regulus.

'Hello, Uncle Tom,' said both the girls as they all took their seats. Tom glanced over at Zinnia.

'Dinner will be ready in five minutes,' she said, and she disappeared back off to the kitchen.

Tom addressed his nieces first.

'So, how are plans for the wedding going?'

'Alright,' Narcissa replied, 'although _I_ didn't want a double wedding…'

'It's going very smoothly,' Bellatrix cut in. 'I'm sure you'll be pleased with the overall theme of the wedding. Especially the colour scheme.'

Tom smiled at her. 'Could it, by any chance, be green and silver?'

Bellatrix smirked, 'Of course, Uncle.'

There came another knock at the door. Zinnia came hurrying out of the kitchen, muttering, 'That will be Poppy.'

Dinner was served, and nearly everyone chattered away merrily. They had a bit of a rant about Andromeda, who now not only was married to Ted Tonks but also had a child with him. Poppy, who normally came to Andromeda's defence, was strangely quiet that evening. It wasn't until the Blacks had gone home, however, that Tom and Zinnia found out why.

'I guess I better head back home too,' she said, yawning as she stood up from the sofa.

'What's up, Poppy?' asked Zinnia. 'You've been ever so quiet tonight. Something wrong?'

Poppy hesitated as she pulled a cloak over her robes. 'Well, in a way, yes…'

'What is it, Poppy?' said Tom.

'I – I'm pregnant,' she replied quickly. 'And it was an accident. I don't even have a boyfriend at the minute. And the father's a Muggle-born who was in the year below at my school. He was in Hufflepuff.'

She didn't pause for breath as she said this. Tom just gaped at her.

'Well, I'll talk to you soon,' she said.

'Wait, Poppy,' said her mother. 'Don't you want to talk about it? Don't you want us to help you?'

Poppy shook her head. 'My friends will help me. Lily Evans is being really good to me. You remember her, don't you Dad?'

And that was that. Poppy had a son in October 1979. Tom and Zinnia were the first people to visit her, though Tom didn't really want to. He refused to speak to Poppy after she told him she was making Lily Evans the baby's Godmother. The baby was called Samuel Tom Riddle, which didn't do anything to make Tom feel better. He often wondered why he bothered getting married and having a child. He worked better alone, anyway. Other people were just always big disappointments. Especially Poppy. Especially his mother. Least of all Zinnia. After so many years of marriage, she was the only person who could tolerate him.

But this is not Tom Riddle's story. This is the story of Poppy, and Sam, and Sam's Godmother. Lily Evans. Who, soon after Sam's birth, became Lily Potter, and announced that she was pregnant.

**If you've read my other story, Only, I am writing a sequel, and that will be up soon ^.^ Please review and tell me what you think :) **


	2. Harry and Sam

**Thanks for the reviews/favourites/alerts ^_^ Here's the second chapter, I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter One – Harry and Sam 

Two women were sat alone in a large, slightly messy living room, sipping cups of tea and talking quietly. One of them had long dark red hair and bright green eyes; the other had short strawberry blond hair and round, chocolate brown eyes. The blond woman leaned in closer to the other woman, and whispered something in her ear. When she sat back again, the red-haired woman let out a delighted shriek.

'Oh, Holly, are you being serious?' she asked her friend eagerly. When the blond woman, Holly, nodded, the red-haired woman clapped her hands together. 'That's wonderful!'

'It is, isn't it?' Holly said. 'But, Lily, you mustn't mention this to James or Sirius. Do you promise?'

Lily sighed heavily. 'If you insist.'

At that moment the door of the living room flew open, and two children came hurtling in. One of them was a boy of ten, almost eleven, who had messy jet black hair and eyes exactly the same as Lily's; the other was a young girl of nine, who had auburn hair that fell to her shoulders and hazel eyes.

'Harry, Amy!' Lily exclaimed, beaming at her two children. 'What are you doing in here? I thought you were with your dad and Sirius?'

Amy shook her head. 'We were, but they weren't being very interesting, so we left. Right, Harry?'

'Yeah, basically,' he said, grinning sheepishly at Lily and Holly. 'Although it was Dad who suggested we left, and found something to do with ourselves…'

'But there are no toys here,' Amy added, pouting.

Lily laughed. 'Oh, sorry Amy, but we _did_ suggest you take something from home to keep you entertained…'

'No you didn't! Did they, Harry?'

'They did, actually.'

At this point, Holly stood up and decided to take action.

'Why don't you and Harry go play outside?' she suggested. 'You can have a go on the broomsticks out there, and have a mini game of Quidditch.'

Harry's eyes were suddenly shining. 'Yes, let's do that! Come on, Amy.'

Amy nodded, and they left the room again.

'Just don't fly too high!' Lily called after them.

'Yes, Mum!' they chorused.

Lily took another sip of her tea, and suddenly gave Holly a small smile as she said, 'You still have all of this to come. Have fun!'

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At about five in the evening, when the back garden of Sirius and Holly's house was bathed in a soft golden light, Harry and Amy were forced to return inside by Lily. It was time to go home.

James, Sirius and Holly were waiting for them by the fireplace in the living room. As they entered the room, Harry saw that James was holding a present in his hand, and realised that it had to be his birthday present from Sirius and Holly. It was birthday in two days time, and he was going to be eleven, which meant that he should be receiving his Hogwarts letter soon. He couldn't wait.

They said their goodbyes, and then made their way home by Floo Powder. Harry, like James, much preferred travelling by broomstick, but it was the quickest and most convenient way to get home.

Home for the Potters was the house they had lived in for the whole of Harry's, and Amy's, life: the cottage in Godric's Hollow. They came out of the fireplace onto the hearth in their kitchen one at a time, straightened up, brushed the soot off of their robes, and savoured being home. James and Lily exchanged a quick glance, before James hurried from the room, no doubt to hide Harry's present; evidently, he thought Harry had not yet noticed it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, neither James nor Lily had to be at work, and so they were having a lie in. They had expressly told Harry and Amy the day before not to wake them unless there was an emergency. So, when Amy burst into their room at half seven, causing them to wake very suddenly, they immediately feared the worst.

'What's happened?' Lily asked her straight away. 'Has something happened to Harry?'

Amy nodded, then added, 'Oh, but nothing bad! You have to come see!'

Slowly, James and Lily got out of bed, and followed Amy down the stairs. They found Harry sat at the table in the kitchen, a bowl of untouched cereal in front of him, the family's tawny owl sitting on the table next to the bowl. He was holding an envelope in his hand, and frowned when his parents entered the room.

'I thought you were having a lie in?' he asked them. Amy smiled guiltily, prompting Harry to say, 'Amy! I told you I didn't mind waiting until they got up! You didn't have to wake them up…'

'That doesn't matter, Harry,' James said. 'What's happened?'

Harry held up the envelope. 'I've got the letter. From Hogwarts. I wasn't going to open it without you though.'

James beamed at his son; Lily went over and hugged him.

'Oh, Harry, this is wonderful! I was wondering when that letter would get here, but no need to worry anymore!' she said. 'Congratulations, Harry!'

'Open it, then,' James added eagerly.

Harry ripped it open and, with trembling hands, unfolded the two pieces of parchment inside. He read it quickly, and a huge smile spread across his face, before handing the first piece of parchment to his mother. He scanned the second page, which was a list of all the equipment and books he needed, and gave that over as well.

'This is really good news,' Lily said. 'Shall we go to Diagon Alley the day after your birthday?'

'I think that would be good,' Harry replied, 'I can get my wand! That's the bit I'm most looking forward to…'

'Are you going to get an owl Harry?' Amy added.

'Yeah, I think so.'

'Ooh, get a snowy one!' she exclaimed. 'They're the most beautiful owls…'

Their tawny owl, Yachi, shot Amy a reproachful glance, and hooted softly at her. She paid no attention to it.

Lily handed the letter to James, so that he could have a read. When he had finished he looked over at Harry and said, 'We should buy you a new broomstick, to celebrate! The Nimbus 2000's coming out this year, you want that one?'

Harry immediately nodded, but Lily said sharply, 'James, first years aren't allowed broomsticks, what's the point of buying him a new one?'

'Well, we know Dumbledore quite well; he could bend the rules a bit, especially since Harry's so good at Quidditch…'

'James!'

'All right, all right, sorry Lily,' James said, grinning at his wife. 'But seriously Harry, we could still get you the broomstick, you can just use it whenever you're home for the holidays.'

'I wouldn't mind that,' said Harry with a laugh. 'Mum, do you think it would be all right if I checked on Sam to see if he's got his letter? Or is it too early?'

Lily shook her head. 'No, I think that will be fine. Tell Poppy that we have to meet up soon, will you?'

Harry nodded, and hurried over to the fireplace in the kitchen. He had completely forgotten about his breakfast. He added some Floo Powder to the fire, stuck his head into it, and said, 'Number 7, Seiten Avenue!'

His head began whizzing through the Floo Network, while the rest of his body remained on the hearth of the kitchen, an experience which he still wasn't entirely comfortable with. Finally he came to a stop in a fireplace in the dark living room of his best friend's house. It was a small, cosy room, and he immediately spotted Sam, sat on the sofa and reading a book, despite how dark the place was. Sam Riddle was quite tall for eleven, had dark brown hair, a very thin face, and light, soft brown eyes. Poppy said that he looked like his father and his grandfather, but as Harry had never seen either, he didn't know whether this was true. As soon as Harry arrived, Sam looked up from his book.

'Harry!' he exclaimed. 'What are you doing here?'

'I got my letter, I got my Hogwarts letter!' he replied. 'And I was just checking that you had too.'

Sam nodded and, beaming at him, took the letter from out of the book. He brandished it in front of Harry's face.

'It came about twenty minutes ago,' he told Harry. 'I'm really excited. Are you?'

'Of course I am,' Harry said, grinning. 'I can't wait! I really want to be in Gryffindor.'

'I'm not sure,' said Sam slowly, 'but definitely not Slytherin. Mum says my grandfather was in Slytherin, and he and Mum don't talk much anymore. Mum doesn't want me to be in Slytherin, but… she can't decide, the hat does.'

'Yeah, in front of the whole school,' Harry added nervously. 'Well, I better go back. Oh, can you tell your mum that my mum wants to meet up with her soon.'

'Okay,' said Sam. 'See you soon, Harry. Happy Birthday for tomorrow!'

'Thanks,' said Harry and, without another word, he pulled his head back out of the fire.


	3. Diagon Alley

**Thank you for the reviews/favourites/alerts :)**

Chapter Two – Diagon Alley

The day after Harry's eleventh birthday was a bright, sunny and warm summer's day, and the Potter family were to be found entering Diagon Alley. Harry almost couldn't contain how excited he was; he was finally getting a wand, an owl, and everything he needed for school.

Their first stop was at Gringotts, a place which always scared Amy slightly; she didn't like the goblins, despite her parents always telling her that they needed to be treated with respect, because James didn't want his daughter to 'be the cause of the next Goblin Rebellion', which he often told her when they made their trips to the bank. Amy never paid much attention to this, and waited with Lily at the entrance to the bank while James and Harry went inside to get out some money.

Harry was desperate for his wand, so they went there next.

'Mr and Mrs Potter,' said Mr Ollivander when they entered the shop. 'It feels like only yesterday you were buying your own wands, just eleven yourselves… how time flies… and now it is the turn of your son. Very well … Mr Potter, which is your wand arm?'

'My right,' Harry replied, his excitement increasing every second.

Mr Ollivander's tape measure was now winding its way up and across Harry's arm, finding the right length and width, while Mr Ollivander himself took out one of the wand boxes from the shelves at the back of the shop. The tape measure crumpled to the floor, and Mr Ollivander handed the wand over to Harry.

'Eight inches, ash and dragon heartstring, just give it a little wave…'

Harry did, but Mr Ollivander soon snatched it back, and Harry knew why; that wand hadn't felt right at all. Mr Ollivander didn't seem fazed, and they continued with the search as the pile of tried and failed wands gradually increased.

Harry was starting to panic at this point. What if none of the wands in the shop worked for him? He glanced back round at his parents, who smiled at him encouragingly, and this calmed him a little.

'Maybe this one will work,' Mr Ollivander said patiently. 'Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches.'

He handed the wand to Harry, who immediately felt a warmth start in his fingertips and move across the whole of his body. This, he knew, was the right wand.

Mr Ollivander nodded his head, Amy started clapping, Lily hugged her son, and James clapped him on the back. Harry felt extremely relieved and elated. He finally had a wand, the thing he had most been looking forward to get. Everything else wasn't so much of a worry anymore.

As they made their way to Madam Malkin's to get Harry's school robes, they ran into a young man whose light brown hair was thinning ever so slightly, and who gave them a small smile when he saw them.

'Moony!' James exclaimed happily. 'We haven't seen you for weeks! How are you?'

'I've been better,' Remus admitted, and he definitely didn't look nearly as cheerful as he normally did, but he still smiled warmly at Harry and Amy, both of whom beamed back at him.

'What's wrong?' Lily asked him. 'Is it your "furry little problem", as James calls it, or is it Nerin?'

'A bit of both,' Remus replied. 'But mostly Nerin. I'll tell you about it some other time, okay?'

'Okay,' said Lily. 'So how come you're in Diagon Alley?'

'Oh, I just fancied a bit of fresh air,' he replied.

'We're here to get my school things!' Harry piped up, and he showed Remus his brand new wand.

'That's excellent, Harry!' Remus said. 'What sort of wand is it?'

'Eleven inches, Holly and Phoenix feather,' Harry told him.

Remus accompanied them to Madam Malkin's to get Harry's robes, and to the Apothecary to get his Potions ingredients, before he told them he had to go to a job interview. They wished him good luck, and he hurried out of the shop.

'Poor Remus,' Lily sighed as Harry got a few more ingredients. 'He still can't get a job! How can his certain quality stop him getting a job? Unless it has to be done at night, I don't see the problem! People can be so prejudiced.'

'I know,' James said, but Harry and Amy didn't take much of this in, as they were mesmerised by all the different ingredients involved in making Potions.

'Are you looking forward to starting Potions?' Lily asked Harry as they left the shop. 'It was one of my best subjects.'

'I guess so,' Harry replied. 'But I'm most looking forward to Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Quidditch, whenever we can do that.'

'Wait, isn't Snivellus teaching Potions?' James interjected.

'James, don't call him that, we're not fifteen anymore,' Lily said.

'Yeah, I know, but still,' James shrugged. 'Old habits die hard.'

Lily rolled her eyes. 'We should invited Severus and his family round for dinner some time, you know.'

'They've already been round for dinner,' James pointed out.

'That was two years ago,' Lily reminded him. 'It's about time we invited them round again.'

'Fine, do whatever you want,' he finally sighed.

Next they went to get an owl for Harry. They spent a considerable amount of time in the shop, while Harry went backwards and forwards between certain owls, before he finally settled on a snowy owl.

'She's an extra, belated birthday present, okay?' Lily said as she handed the caged owl over to Harry when they left the shop, twenty minutes later.

'Okay,' Harry said. 'Thanks Mum, Dad.'

'What are you going to call her Harry?' Amy added.

Harry shrugged. 'I'm not sure yet.'

They spent the rest of the day shopping for the remaining items on the list, eating ice creams, and trawling through all the things in Quality Quidditch Supplies. They didn't return home until five in the evening, by which time they were all extremely tired. Harry spent most of the evening poring over his new books and examining his wand, while Lily made arrangements with Poppy for her and Sam to come over for tea tomorrow.

'So you want Severus Snape, his wife and their five year old to come round for dinner in three days, Frank, Alice and Neville to come round for lunch in two days, and you want Poppy and Sam to come tomorrow?' James asked her as she finished talking to Poppy. 'Oh, and Remus is coming for tea in four days. Where are all our free days?'

'In five days of course, James,' Lily replied.

Harry's excitement increased. He wondered if Sam would have his Hogwarts things already too. They would certainly have a lot to talk about.

**Please review :)**


	4. Slytherin's Heir

**Hello :) Sorry it's taken me a while to update, but I'll update against next Friday, and always update on Fridays ^_^ Thank you for the reviews/favourites/alerts.**

Chapter Three – Slytherin's Heir

The next morning, at about eleven o'clock, Harry and Amy were sat at the kitchen table, eagerly watching the fireplace. James was also sat at the table, reading the paper and completely ignoring the fireplace. Lily already had three cups of steaming tea ready, and was just setting them down at the table when green flames burst into life, and Sam Riddle fell onto the hearth.

'Sam!' Harry and Amy exclaimed in unison, leaping up from their chairs. Sam beamed at them.

'Hi Harry, hi Amy,' he said, moving off of the hearth just as his mother appeared.

Poppy Riddle straightened up, brushed the ashes of her robes, and turned to Lily and James.

'Hello Lily, James.'

'Poppy,' said James, nodding. 'It's good to see you again.'

She grinned at him. 'You too.'

'Come on, sit down,' Lily added. 'I've already made the tea.'

'Really? Oh, thanks Lily!'

'Sam, Sam, let's go upstairs, I've got lots of things to show you that I bought in Diagon Alley yesterday,' Harry told him, and he lead the way up the stairs into his bedroom.

When they reached the door with a sign plastered on it saying, "Harry's Room", Harry paused and looked round at Amy. After a small moment's silence, she crossed her arms and sighed, 'Fine, I'll go. If you need me, I'll be in my room.'

She hurried off down the hallway. Harry's shoulders relaxed, and he opened the door into his room, Sam quickly following.

Harry's bedroom was quite big, and very colourful. Though the walls were painted a light blue, they were covered in Gryffindor banners, and Harry's bedspread was a matching red. There was a picture of Harry with his parents on his desk, which stood by the window which overlooked the front garden of the house. Also on the desk was a huge bird cage, in which sat Harry's snowy owl.

'That's a beautiful owl,' Sam said. 'What have you called it?'

'She's called Hedwig," Harry replied. 'I found the name in _A History of Magic_. Have you got your school stuff yet?"

Sam shook his head. 'Mum says we're going to go tomorrow. I can't wait to get my wand. Do you want to come shopping with us? Mum says its okay for you to come.'

Harry sighed and shook his head. 'I can't, Neville's coming to play tomorrow,' he explained. 'And then one of Mum's old school friends is coming round the day after, and the next day Remus is coming to see us because he's broken up with his girlfriend Nerin again.'

'Wow, that's a busy week,' Sam muttered. 'How is Neville? Did he get a letter?'

'I guess so, I haven't seen him for a while though,' Harry shrugged. 'I'll find out tomorrow.'

'I saw my grandfather yesterday,' Sam said suddenly. 'He doesn't visit very often, but he and grandmother came because I got my letter. Mum went out for the day, but that doesn't really matter … look what grandfather gave me, because I got into Hogwarts …'

Sam dug his hand into his jacket pocket, and extracted a small ring.

'It's a family heirloom,' Sam explained, handing it over to Harry as he did. 'It belonged to one of my distant ancestors, someone called Peverell, apparently. Grandfather says that if I'm put into Slytherin he'll give me something that belonged to Salazar Slytherin himself.'

'That's amazing,' Harry breathed. 'Oh, but I don't want you to be in Slytherin, unless I am too, and I don't want to be in Slytherin either…'

'I know,' Sam said. 'But I'm not really bothered about getting an heirloom … but it would be nice, to have something that belonged to one of the founders.'

Harry nodded, but said nothing. He handed the ring back to Sam, and changed the subject.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Their busy week passed very quickly. Neville had gotten a letter for Hogwarts, and he and Harry spent most of the day re-enacting the sorting. They were both desperate to get into Gryffindor. Amy was allowed to play with them this time.

Then, the next day, as the sun was setting and the world bathed in a bright, warm orange glow, Severus Snape and his wife and daughter arrived at the front door. The last time they had come round was two years ago, when Severus had first told Lily that he was getting married. His daughter, Marie, was four years old, and barely spoke a word all throughout dinner. Severus's wife, Hazel, was the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, where they had met, meaning that Marie spent most of the year with Hazel's parents.

Marie did seem quite distant with her parents, though she quickly warmed to Harry and Amy. They played lots of games with her, and by the end of the evening she was much more bubbly. James, on the other hand, had gotten more subdued as the night went on, and hardly ever spoke to Severus. When they finally left, he breathed a sigh of relief.

'Thank God he's gone,' James said to Lily.

'Honestly, James,' she sighed. 'Can't you get over this?'

'Probably not,' James shrugged. 'I do try, I promise.'

'Yes,' Lily agreed. 'At least you were civil to him tonight.'

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Remus came round the day after. Lily had set out a box of Honeydukes's best chocolates and cups of tea, ready to listen to Remus have a good moan about Nerin. When he arrived, however, there she was, stood at his side and smiling: Nerin Jones, a petite young woman with shoulder length dark brown hair and grey eyes.

'Oh… Nerin!' Lily exclaimed, forcing herself to smile. 'We were just expecting Remus.'

'Sorry,' said Nerin, giving Lily a nervous smile. 'We sort of got back together yesterday, so I thought I'd tag along!'

'Well, it's lovely to see you,' Lily hesitated. 'Come in, come in! Just settle down in the living room, I'll make you a tea or coffee if you like…'

Harry and Amy were sat on the stairs, watching this exchange. Amy tapped Harry on the shoulder.

'Harry, I thought Remus and Nerin had broken up,' she whispered in his ear.

'Yeah, so did I, but this happens a lot,' he muttered. 'I really hope I don't get stuck in something like that when I'm older.'

Amy giggled. 'Neither do I.'


End file.
